UK Embassy Denies Visa to 2 Iranian Hemophiliacs

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The British embassy in Turkey refused two Iranian hemophiliacs visas while the patients were scheduled to undergo advanced medical treatment at the invitation of University College London (UCL), an Iranian health official said.

Ahmad Qavidel, head of Iran’s Institute of Hemophilia, told the Tasnim News Agency on Tuesday that his organization -a member of the World Federation of Hemophilia- has voiced protest to the British government’s “inhumane” decision which displays lack of responsibility.

He said the visa denial reflects the “policies that basically place no value on human rights and health.”

According to Qavidel, British scientists were the first to introduce a new method, known as gene therapy, to treat hemophilia.

Following the breakthrough progress, two Iranian hemophiliacs were singled out to travel to Britain at the invitation of the UCL, which also offered the cost of their treatment up to 60,000 pounds.

Over the past years, Iran has been under tough Western sanctions which target oil exports, shipping, airlines, petrochemical and automotive industries, banking system and currency, and many other areas which have a direct bearing on the lives of people.

The West has also devised a regime of sanctions that severely restricts Iran's ability to access food and medicines.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said earlier that the unilateral Western sanction targeting the medical, pharmaceutical and scientific sectors in Iran have very negative impacts on the nation’s view of Westerners.